For the Love of Rabbits
by KiwiAid
Summary: A girl named Anya is working at the ranch in Soledad, after great difficulty in searching for a job as a female. She is tortured by Curley, resented by his wife, not particularly liked by the boss and things only get worse when her life is put in danger by the newcomers' presence. George/OC
1. Chapter 1 - Analysis

Of Mice and Men FanFiction - Untitled.

Chapter 1

"Hey, Anya! Could ya head back to the barn 'nd get another pitchfork, this ones handle's busted."

"Sure, Slim. I'll be back before you can say, 'where the heck has she got to now.'" Anya winked at him and this just received her a roll of his eyes. She'd only been at the ranch a couple of months but she felt like she had made a life friend in Slim because he was the most understanding out of all the other workers on her current predicament. She had found the ranch after weeks of wandering, finding someone who would let a woman work under them without expecting her to join them in their bed when they got bored.

Anya had grown up just outside of California and everyone had expected her to do what every other woman was made to do, marry a suitable bachelor and become a slave to the domestic life usually inhabited within a kitchen and bedroom. That life wasn't for her though, so she ran. She didn't get very far before her "precious" daddy caught up with her. The evil bastard slapped her around until he had no energy left, which gave her a suitable break to start running again. She went to a few ranches before this one in Soledad, but nobody would take her... not for doing ranch work anyway. Anya had almost given up and returned home until she spotted this place. They had told her to piss off at first and laughed in her face... She didn't know how Slim did it, but he changed their minds and for that, she would be forever grateful. Anya always had trouble with Curley, however. He treat her like a piece of meat, always trying it on even though he was married. Sick bastard.

As Anya was making her way back to the barn as quickly as she could manage, she noticed Candy, or Sweet as she calls him, talking to two guys she didn't recognize and that's when she realized they must be the guys the boss were waiting for last night. She cringed a little at the thought of their first encounter with the boss man not be very comfortable. She nearly diverted to go and say hello to them, but decided there would be time for that later and decided to try and analyse them from a distance instead... she had done this with the previous newcomers, she wanted to know if they would be any trouble. Anya noticed one was considerably taller than the other but by the way they stood close to one another, she realized they knew each other well. The shorter man was reasonably younger than the taller man but not by much and his face contained some handsome features. She also observed that the taller man would often look to the shorter man whenever Candy would speak, like he was waiting on orders. This suddenly ran alarm bells. Perhaps the shorter gentleman was taking advantage of the other man? Realizing that she still had a job to do, Anya picked up speed towards the barn only to be stopped by another arsehole. Shoving the barn door open, Curley stormed out surveying the scene around him. When he noticed Anya, he stopped and his muscles flexed slightly as he smirked at her.

"Well, well, well... look at what we have 'ere. Shouldn't you be workin'?" Anya huffed in his direction and then stormed past him, trying to ignore his leering nature. "Hey! What d'ya think you're doing?"

"I'm working... you know, some people actually do that thing called 'work.'" She collected up the pitchfork that was leaning against one of the barn walls and as she turned around, she bumped into the stout bastard that was following her around like a lost mutt.

"Don't get smart wit' me, ya silly bitch... you seen my wife?" She glared at him, then stopped and smiled sarcastically.

"If I had, I wouldn't tell ya, now get outta my way." She shoved him aside and strode on back towards the rest of the boys. She knew she shouldn't let Curley provoke her and most of the time it took great restraint not to punch him square in the face, but she knew she couldn't risk getting canned. Her whole life was this job and she couldn't afford to lose it. She felt bad for his wife in a way, she knew what it was like to be female in this world. Anya had it lucky. Not everyone got the opportunity that she has had the privilege of having and she knew Curley's wife resented her for it. As she re-joined the boys, one look from Slim and he knew that she had had a run in with the boss' son which resulted in him smiling at her sympathetically.

"I think the new boys are here." She said quickly as she passed him the pitchfork.

"Oh? And what's lady Anya's view on them?" She nudged him playfully at the word 'lady'. He knew she hated being called that.

"I think..." She paused for a second. "I think they'll be alright." 


	2. Chapter 2 - The Bunkhouse Greeting

FanFiction - Of Mice and Men - Untitled

Chapter 2

Anya and the boys had just finished up for the day and were heading back to the bunkhouse for some much needed supper and rest. Carlson, Slim and the rest of the boys promised Anya she could right up front in the truck. She usually was shoved on the back, cramped between some of the other guys who would tease her to no end. It wasn't harmful teasing, not anymore anyway, but it was teasing all the same and it grew tiresome sometimes. As they reached the bunkhouse, Anya hopped out of the truck with great anticipation in meeting the new ranchers. Anya let Slim enter the bunkhouse first and followed right behind him. As she looked around the room, she noticed Sweet sat on his bunk and his mutt sat beside him. As her eyes scanned some more, she noticed the big guy sat on a bunk just a way off from the littler guy who was sat at the table with a cup of water in his hand. She had analysed him correctly, he definitely had handsome features. As they entered, all three of them turned to look at who had entered the bunkhouse. As the littler guy noticed Anya, he shifted uncomfortably which didn't surprise her in the slightest.

Slim was the first to speak. "So, you must be the new guys. I'm Slim."

"George Milton." He spoke cautiously, but when Slim held out his hand to him, he shook it in greeting.

"'Nd the big guy is?" Slim asked politely as he turned towards the person in question.

"Lennie Small." He spoke in a protective tone that didn't go unnoticed by Anya.

She stifled a small laugh which caused people in the bunkhouse to turn to face her, with questioning looks on their faces. "Oh, sorry. It's just... it's a little ironic isn't it." Anya turned to her trusted friend, Slim for confirmation as she knew he would be the only one to catch her meaning. Slim smiled at her for reassurance and then she turned back to the newcomer and offered her hand out as Slim had done previously. She got no response. This actually also didn't surprise her as much as it should have. She lowered her hand awkwardly as the gentleman just stared at her, but Anya just couldn't read him. She couldn't tell if she had offended him or surprised him. "Okay... well... I'll just." She backed off slowly to avoid any confrontation and allowed others closer to welcome George and Lennie, but Slim wasn't going to let that go unanswered.

"Has my friend done something to upset you?" Slim crossed his arms against his chest and looked down at George who was still staring at her.

"No... It's just..." With that, he turned to Lennie who was also staring at Anya with great interest which was only now brought to her attention. Suddenly, she felt very uncomfortable. "Does she sleep in here?"

"Of course she does. She's a rancher and this is where the ranchers sleep. Is that a problem?" Slim wasn't speaking in a malicious tone. Anya knew he was just genuinely curious in this odd behaviour.

"No, I guess not. I just didn't expect to see any female workers is all."

Anya believed this to be her cue to speak up. "That's because there aren't many really. I'm sorry if I've offended you in any way, it wasn't my intention." George nodded slightly in response and this allowed her to relax slightly in his presence.

"Well men... I think it's time you lot started the campfire, don't you. I'm starvin'." All the men rushed out of the bunkhouse after Slim, including Sweet, leaving George, Lennie and Anya alone in the cramped room. Anya moved to her bunk and grabbed at the backpack that lay, slumped beside it. As she tugged at its contents, she turned to see the big guy still staring at her. She shifted slightly under his gaze and turned to his friend who was looking very pissed off.

"Why don't ya go join them? You must be hungry too, right?" He looked blank for a second and then rose from his seat.

"Ya know, that ain't a bad idea. Com'on Lennie." At first the giant didn't move, he just continued to stare. "Lennie!"

"Wha' was that, George?" Putting his right arm on his hip and tapping his left foot, George was getting agitated. "I said let's go. It's time to get ya somethin' to eat."

"Oh sure, George." With that said, Lennie trailed after Milton who waited until Lennie left first. Before he followed, he stopped and looked at Anya who was tugging out a change of clothes from her backpack. She stopped too when she noticed George had not yet left. They stared at each other for a few seconds before he turned and half slammed the bunkhouse door shut, leaving her to wonder what she had done to piss him off so much.

Lennie was watching the men lighting the firewood for the campfire and setting the pot to cook the food in. George looked at the other men rushing about and relished the opportunity to set a few things straight for his ol' troublesome friend. "Hey! You have to keep away from her, you hear?"

Lennie turned to him innocently. "But... I done nothin', George."

George glared at him fiercely. "No, not yet you haven't. Just keep away from her. Whenever she comes to try and talk to you, come to me! You don't touch her! Got it?"

Lennie smiled lazily, "Sure George." 


	3. Chapter 3 - Milly

FanFiction - Of Mice and Men - Untitled

Chapter 3

Anya woke the next morning in her usual position in her bunk. Her hand lay under her head, one leg outside the blanket and the other slightly bent just underneath. She smiled slightly as she did at the sound of Slim and Sweet snoring, s she did everyday. She lifted her head slightly and looked across the bunkhouse to see George already awake and sliding a shirt over his head. They hadn't spoken at all since yesterday's supper and somehow she knew if she didn't start conversation, he never would. Anya dragged herself out of the bunk and and plonked herself on a chair next to the table. She had no intention of trying to be quiet for her fellow ranchers, they had work to do. She grabbed at the jug of water left on the table from yesterday and poured some in a nearby cup and looked up at George was watching her as he did up the buttons on his shirt. When he noticed her looking at him, he turned away and pretended to be busy. He wasn't in the mood to chat with her.

Slim stirred from his deep sleep a way from where Anya was sat and as he sat up, she smiled at him sweetly. "Mornin' sunshine." He rolled his eyes at her and moved to sit on the chair opposite.

He turned to looked at George was done doing up his shirt and was now sliding his boots on. "Ready for ya first days work?"

"Of course." Once he had tied up both his boots, he moved to his friend's bunk and nudged him awake.

"Wha' is it, George?"

"It's time to get up, Com' on. We've got work to do."

"Oh sure, George." George allowed Lennie space to climb out of the bunk and passed him some clothes that lay in a bag by his own bunk. Anya then left the bunkhouse to do her usual morning routine of cooking breakfast for the men. It was amusing to her how she still ended up doing domestic jobs for them, even though that's what she was escaping from when she became a rancher. However, she knew if she didn't cook for them in the morning, they wouldn't have breakfast at all and would go the full working hours without any food in their belly.

Slim watched Anya leave and smiled at her as she left. He then turned to George who had decided to occupy the chair beside him. "So, where did you two come from?"

George turned to him slightly and hesistated. "A long way away." Slim nodded at him and continued with his line of questioning. "So, what's a smart guy like you, doing with a guy like him." George tried not to take offence when he realized Slim hadn't meant it in a malicious way.

"I used to know his Aunt Clara. I promised her I'd take care of 'im before she died." He laughed despite himself. "Sometimes, he's so dumb he doesn't even remember who Aunt Clara is." Slim scoffed slightly and turned to Lennie who was sat on his bunk, half listening to the conversation and half distracted by what Carlson was doing now that he was awake too.

"I see. So, how'd you end up in Soledad?"

George scratched at the table as a short distraction while he decided whether to trust Slim with the full truth or not. "Back in Weed, there was this girl on the ranch and she was wearing this red dress... and Lennie liked it. When he sees something he likes, he just... pets it." Slim was listening with great interest as George tried to phrase the story the best way he could. "But he doesn't realize his own strength... the girl was screamin' for him to let go and this just panicked him more. So, he held on tighter because he's too dumb to do anythin' else... When she got loose, she ran for the hills... screaming. We ran in the opposite direction."

When George finished talking, it took Slim a few seconds to wrap the story around his head. "And that's why you don't like Anya, ain't it?" He looked at Slim in slight disbelief, before he briefly nodded. Sighing, Slim sat up from the table and so did Milton. "I wont tell her... but there ain't no point not talking to her. She hasn't done nothing wrong." He nodded in thanks at Slim. They both didn't realize that Candy had been listening in to the conversation the whole time.

Once Slim had got everyone up, Anya came in and let everyone know their breakfast was ready. This was greeted with cheers from some of the men and Carlson who rubbed his hands together in anticipation for the meal to come. They all left the bunkhouse in a hurry, except for Anya and George who she had stopped as he was about to join the others. "Hey look, I know we didn't exactly start off too well... I just wanted to apologize for whatever I've done to piss you off." He shifted slightly at the language she was using and she realized he probably wasn't used to a 'lady' saying things like that. "Look, you obviously don't want me around for a reason I haven't quite figured it out just yet, but I ain't goin' anywhere so... we might as well try and get along. Wouldn't you agree?" He fixed his eyes on hers for a few seconds before he simply he nodded. "Good. Now that that is settled... I'm going to go check on Milly."

He stopped and looked at her quizzically. "Milly?"

"Yeah, My rabbit."

Anya was confused as to why George had insisted in joining her in the barn to take care of little Milly, but she didn't question it. The journey there however, was eerily silent between the two of them and she was restraining from trying to make conversation with the guy who had obviously taken a dislike to her for whatever reason. Anya pushed open the barn door and as soon as they entered, they heard the shuffling of little feet from her rabbit Milly and the slow hum from Slim's dog's litter. "Milly's right over there." She pointed to one of the stable compounds to the right of the barn. That's when she noticed Crooks who was right outside his room's door. She nodded to him sightly and he returned it with a slight smile. Crooks had become a sort of... aquintance. She felt bad for him because of the discrimination he suffered. She suffered it too. Anya slightly jerked George towards Milly whilst she grabbed the feed that was on the other side of the barn. When she rejoined him she noticed he was staring intently. "Are you okay?"

"What? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. It's a nice rabbit." She didn't try and stop the grin that appeared on her face and this made George smile in return. "So, how'd you end up with it?"

"Well, a couple of days after I arrived, some guy came with a new litter of rabbits hoping to earn some cash selling them, but nobody was budging. I had a few bucks spare after my first pay so I bought one." He nodded intently and then took a moment to look around the barn and that's when he looked over the litter of puppies.

"Do you think Slim will let Lennie have a pup?"

"I don't see why not? I take Lennie has a love of animals?"

This made George laugh slightly. "You could say that. You see, the thing with Lennie is..." He never got a chance to finish his sentence before a certain bastard stormed in to the barn. 


	4. Chapter 4 - Pups and Rabbits

FanFiction - Of Mice and Men - For the Love of Rabbits

Chapter 4

The sound of the barn door crashing against the wooden beam caused both George and Anya to jump out of their skins. They both regained themselves quickly though and they turned to face the opposition. Curley stood by the barn door with his hands on his hips trying to look as menacing as possible whilst George and Anya stood side by side on the other side of the barn. Curley stormed up to them with that evil smirk plastered on his face. "So, it looks like you're breaking the rules already ain't ya beaut'ful." Anya scowled at him and this just made him laugh more. "What will pap say when he finds out."

"There ain't nothing going on. I was just showing him Milly."

"Ha! You got a love of rabbits or somethin'?" George said nothing. "Ain't much for conversation, are ya?" Still nothing. Curley just scoffed to himself and then turned back to Anya. "You seen my wife beaut'ful."

"You should keep her on a leash if you insist on losing her all the time." He scowled at her now.

"Maybe you should stop actin' like a man and get back in to the bedroom where you belong, ay?" As he said this he slapped her arse so hard she had to flinch to stop herself from showing the pain it caused. This made George talk.

"Maybe you should back off, pal." He was now squaring up to Curley, blocking the path between his opposition and Anya. Curley looked furious. "I think you have a wife to go find." At this statement, Curley faltered slightly.

"Yeah, I do... but i'll be back for you later." He sniggered as he pointed at Anya.

"Asshole." She whispered venomously. When she noticed that George was still tense and staring at the spot he just left, she walked over to him and placed a soothing hand on his shoulder. His only response was a flinch at her touch. "It's okay, George. He's gone." At this, he turned to look at her and she could see the hatred in his eyes.

"Are you hurt?" He said as she removed the hand from his shoulder.

"It'll be sore for awhile, but it's not the first time he's slapped me around a little." She spoke in a neutral tone as if the events of the barn meant nothing.

"Has he ever..." She stopped in her activity of tending to Milly for a second before continuing.

"No. He''s never... no. He's felt me up a few times, but it has never gone further than that."

"Bastard."

She smiled slightly. "I agree."

George was leaning on one of the fences of the compunds in the barn when she had finished. "What was he talkin' about when he said 'looks like you're breaking the rules already.'"

"You caught that, huh? Well apparently because I'm doing a man's job, I have to act like a man. I ain't allowed to be with a man on the ranch to put it blunt."

"I see." There was an awkward silence that occured between the pair but it wasn't unwanted. "Do you think you could let Lennie come and see, Milly." Anya laughed despite herself as she looked at George's serious expression as he spoke. This allowed him to relax momentarily and they both began giggling like two secret lovers.

"Sure, I think Milly would appreciate the company and I'm confident Slim will give 'em a pup too. We should go. We have work to do." They both led out of the barn and headed towards the dying campfire and one look from Slim told him that she had had another run in with the boss' son.

"You okay, mi'lady" She punched him on the arm playfully at his sarcastic curtsies.

"Yeah, just another run in with the shrew." He scoffed and then looked to George who was scanning the area for his friend.

"He's just inside the bunkhouse, been waitin' for you to come back. We're heading off in the trucks now. So, best go grab your friend." George nodded in appreciation at Slim and headed in the quarters to get Lennie. "So, I noticed you were in the barn with the new guy."

"Yeah, I think he was interested in my rabbit." Slim stared at her in minor disbelief and when she caught his drift she laughed at herself. "I swear, that sounded better in my head. What I meant was, I think his friend likes animals and he asked if Lennie could go see him sometime. Oh, I think he's also interested in one of your pups if you're willing to give one up."

"Sure, I have a few spare." With that said, the two men slumped out of the bunkhouse ready for their first days work. As they all clambered in to the trucks, the sound of shouting from Curley and Curley's wife could be heard from the house. They all shook their heads in annoyance at the sound of their pointless screaming. Anya was back to squishing in the back of the truck with the hay and George and Lennie joined her. George purposely placed himself between her and Lennie which Anya found curious.

"So, how long have you and Lennie been travellin' together?"

"For a very long time."

"For a very lon' time." Lennie repeated beside him. She smiled at him sweetly and she recieved a grin in return. "Tell her 'bout the rabbits, George." George looked at Anya for a second with a serious expression on his face which softened almost immeditately after.

"Hey, Lennie. Anya has something to show you later."

"What is it, George?" Lennie sat dead upright with his knee's tensed together and his hands clapping as a small child does when they recieve a new toy.

"You'll find out later, but you'll only find out if you work hard, got it?"

"Oh sure, George... I wanna tend those rabbits."

"You know for once, you're smarter than you think." Anya and George both beamed at one another at the prospect of showing him little Milly... and his new pup.

"Oh, George. I forgot to mention that I've asked Slim about the pups."

"Whoa, whoa... wha' pups, George?" George patted down the hands that Lennie had moved towards his face to try and get his attention.

"What'd he say?"

"He said that Lennie could take one." With this, Lennie started bobbing up and down on his seat in excitement.

"But only if you do a good days work."

"I.. I can do that, George. I'll work extra hard, George." They both sat giggling at Lennie and that's when the truck pulled over to their destination. That's when they knew it was time to be serious and get some work done. 


End file.
